The Bigger Gem
by A. Zap
Summary: With the loss of Rose, Garnet finds herself as the new leader of the Crystal Gems. Pearl is distraught, Amethyst is hurt, and Greg is at a loss of what to do. Despite her own feelings, Garnet has to be the bigger gem and help her friends. She always has to be the bigger gem. (In other words, the immediate aftermath of Steven's birth.)


**Disclaimer: I do not own Steven Universe or its characters.**

* * *

The Bigger Gem

"How could you let her do this?!" Pearl shrieked at her, tears streaming down her face.

Garnet showed no emotion as Pearl yelled at her. It made sense that the gem was directing her ire at her. After all, she had seen this coming.

And it's not like Rose was there for Pearl to be mad at.

In the corner, Amethyst was curled up in a ball, unusually quiet. The silence in her wake was filled with her own grief.

"How could you - Why did she - Why didn't you stop her?!" Pearl pounded on her arm, but Garnet couldn't look at her.

She couldn't bring herself to look at her.

Instead, she looked over at Greg holding the newborn baby, his gem poking through the blankets as he shifted. Pain was evident on the man's face as well, but he clutched his son to him.

The funniest part of this was that Pearl thought that she could have stopped Rose.

* * *

Rose Quartz approached Garnet, hesitation in every step. Garnet could tell that what came next would be important though.

This was a crossroads of sorts, but even with future vision, she wasn't sure what kind.

"Garnet?" The normally confident gem asked, fidgeting slightly. "May I ask you something?"

She resisted the urge to say, "You already did." This wasn't the time for jokes. Instead, she nodded.

"Things with Greg... There's something I want to do..." Rose looked away, a nervous look on her face.

"I know." Garnet could see the paths forming before her. She knew exactly what Rose was going to ask.

But she also knew that it was really too late for her to be asking.

"Do you think... this is the right thing to do?" Rose finally asked.

Garnet had been Rose counselor for thousands of years. Her future vision was a great asset and one of the best tools in her arsenal. Sapphire's experience as a diplomat and Ruby's instincts for fighting were also incredibly valuable when it came to this.

Bringing all of this together, Garnet only had one thing to really say.

"Does it feel right?" She asked.

Rose blinked. "Yes."

"You once told me to do what felt right. I return the advice now." Garnet reached out and placed a comforting hand on her arm. "Besides, I don't know why you're asking me in the first place. You've already decided."

Rose gave a slow smile and a small chuckle. "Thank you."

The two of them stood there in silence a moment. They looked over the serene scenery of Beach City, the complete opposite of where they first met.

"Take care of them?" Rose asked, and Garnet followed her gaze to where Pearl was once more trying to reign in Amethyst.

"Of course." Garnet said, suppressing the trill of fear that ran through her being.

She was a counselor and a fighter, not a leader.

But pretty soon, she would have to be.

* * *

"Why?" Pearl shrieked, and finally collapsed onto her knees. Her sobs racked her frame.

It wasn't like Garnet couldn't understand her feelings. After all, the person Pearl loved, the one she had devoted everything to, was gone.

(Deep withing Garnet, the spark that was still undeniably Ruby pulled the spark that was Sapphire closer.

Neither wanted to even contemplate a day when one would have to be without the other. Neither wanted to think of how a shattering could end everything.

Garnet's fear was different. Because even if she lived on in whoever remained, she would never be _her_ again.

Garnet would be gone, just as surely as either Ruby or Sapphire.)

Though she would have to admit, that was not her only reason for letting this to happen.

Knowing that there was nothing she could do for her fellow gems at the moment, Garnet instead approached Greg.

"May I?" She held out her hands.

"Uh, sure." Greg nervously held out the baby to her.

Garnet held the baby just as Greg had demonstrated. At his prompting, she bounced him up and down a bit.

Garnet had foreseen several possibilities as to who Rose Quartz and Greg's would be. She had seen girls and boys with differing personalities and looks, but this one, the one who had actually been born, had been the strongest possibility.

"Hello, Steven." She smiled down at the baby, and she received a smile and happy gurgle in return.

Rose had fallen in love with her child without even knowing who they would be. Garnet had seen him and fallen in love.

It wasn't just that Rose had wanted this child, Garnet had wanted him too.

"Garnet," she looked up at Greg's cautious tone, "are you okay?" His eyes darted over to first Amethyst and then Pearl. The unasked question was obvious.

"I'm..." Garnet hesitated with her answer.

It hurt, she couldn't deny this. And this was completely new territory for them all. Garnet had never heard of a hybrid between a gem and an indigenous species from an occupied planet. And it had come about from the first person who had accepted her as her. She could only be here because of Rose.

Of course she was just as hurt as Amethyst or Pearl.

However, she was expected to lead them now. She had to be strong for them. She had to make it appear as though things would be fine.

She had to be the bigger gem.

"I'm fine." Garnet said, turning her gaze back to Steven.

She heard a soft sniffle as Amethyst slid up next to her. "So this is the little guy?" She peered at Steven, who burbled at her, bringing a small smile to her face.

"Yes. This is Steven."

"He's so small." Amethyst reached out slowly and Steven grasped one of her fingers.

"All humans start out this small." Greg explained to her.

"Yeah." Amethyst's smile grew a bit and she giggled as she started making funny faces to make Steven laugh.

However, she fell silent as Pearl finally pulled herself together enough to draw closer. She held back a few tears as she got a good look at Rose's son. "He's got Rose's curls." Pearl said with a watery smile.

The gems drew strength from each other, and with a jerk of her head, Garnet invited Greg over to join them which he eagerly took. The four clustered around Steven, looking at the last remnant of Rose Quartz, her pride and joy.

 _Things will be fine_ , Garnet told herself. And she knew that someday that would be true.

She would do everything in her power to make sure it would.

* * *

 _AN: So this is something that I've had posted on my Tumblr for a while. In light of last night's episode, I decided to finally post it here._

 _Garnet admitted in Friend Ship that she is not as strong as she seems; we saw in Future Vision that she isn't as confident as she seems when it comes to handling situations; and we've also seen signs that Garnet tries her best to lead the Gems, but it isn't something she's entirely comfortable with. Last night, we saw more that she's unsure of herself.  
_

 _I thought this stuff could be why she doesn't show it, and it would go with how Ruby mentioned that they always have to be the bigger gem.  
_


End file.
